«It’s been a long 18 months so far. I told myself that I wouldn’t enter the world of football with guns blazing like Americans usually do, I took a year to study and understand the sector better. I have been privileged in my career to be close to the best properties in the world, in US sports but also at Liverpool. In these 18 months we have started to put the pieces of the puzzle of our investment in place”. This is how AC Milan owner Gerry Cardinale began, speaking during the conference The Business of Football 2024 organized by the Financial Times.
«Everyone wants to win. Milan is where it is thanks to Silvio Berlusconi, but the way he did it is something that can never be repeated. George Steinbrenner (historic patron of the New York Yankees) in baseball was like Berlusconi in football, but you can’t win that way anymore. The point is to win consistently, above all to be competitive consistently. Usually all rationality in the world of sport is excluded, because everyone wants to win, but it is essential to always be competitive”he continued.
«Why did we choose Zlatan? Among the benefits of taking a year to study the situation was also getting to know Ibrahimovic well. When I met Zlatan I was very intrigued, he is a great team player and if you manage to introduce the factor of being teams into the business world you can do better things. When clubs are bought, many consultants are usually relied on, but who knows Milan and European football better than Zlatan? We have a proven track record of partnering with people like him, from Dwayne Johnson to LeBron James via Ben Affleck and Matt Demon and I see the same things in Zlatan.”
«In Italy everyone wants to know who the president is and where he is. Having Ibrahimovic allows me to be in Milan even from the USA, he is my “substitute” in Milan. He has the authority to be my voice speaking to staff and players, he has a credibility that no one else would have had, he has a way of speaking to the players that is as if he were speaking to the owners. I don’t want to go and talk in the locker room, he goes for me: the fans carry the torch forward on an emotional level, but I have a job to do and I can’t be emotionally involved in the same way. I want to win more than anyone else. There is always someone like Zlatan in winning teams, someone who has the urgency to win, but I wouldn’t have the same credibility as those who have won. We get along well, we have a similar vision.”
«Will the stadium be built? Yes. We have made more progress in 18 months than anyone else in Italy, we are trying to create not just the stadium but an American-style entertainment campus. Milan would be the perfect place and it would be good for Milan, Italy and Serie A. My goal is to create a company to build the stadium and then use it to help other clubs build their stadiums. I want to help Serie A grow. I would like to win every year, it would be impossible, but it is the competitive level that creates value. If it were the usual clubs that won there would be less value. When we left Milan many called me in the USA asking me if I had gone crazy, you can’t do business in Italy. But I don’t agree, there is resistance everywhere. I love San Siro, it is a privilege to play there, but the question is not the stadium but whether we can win better with a new stadium and the answer is categorically yes. We can add value to Serie A by setting an example.”
«How to compete with sovereign funds? The answer is not to spend more than them, but to compete by spending better. You don’t have to work with a deficit, but look at cash flow and be able to reinvest what you earn, we reinvest everything. The point of the stadium is that it gives us more cash flow and allows us to compete better. People think that the solution is to spend a lot of money but it’s not sustainable, we need to spend better and that’s what we want to do.”
«From a sporting point of view we are not satisfied with not being in first place, but we will get there. If you take a step back in evaluating the team, considering that it is a young team, we are not doing badly, there is still room to grow. However, we are disappointed by the aspects of the injuries, it is not possible not to be able to use all the players we have invested in, it is another of the elements in which we must improve.”
«Exit strategy? I just arrived, but you’re already asking me to leave (laughs, ed.). The best way is to find a way not to get out of it. It’s the best opportunity I’ve had so far in my career, it has an impact that nothing else has ever had. The path is to capitalize the investment for my investors and remain the owner, but we are still far from the goal”concluded Cardinale.
2024-02-29 18:38:48
#Cardinal #Ibrahimovic #voice #Milan #speaks
